Several real estate salespeople were disciplined for their roles in a real estate fraud ring recently following an investigation made public this week by Minnesota’s Department of Commerce.

The department identified 45 instances where salespeople from Split Rock Realty, based in Excelsior, allegedly made deals that involved kickbacks. The state alleges that:

Beginning in October 2006, Michael Stephen Hyland and other salespeople arranged for buyers to purchase numerous investment properties. After the sales, amounts ranging from $25,000 to $75,000 were illegally diverted from the sellers of the properties.

The Split Rock associates then allegedly worked with Robert Aslesen, owner of Options Plus Realty, to receive the kickbacks after the properties sold and pass them along to buyers after taking a cut.

Elsafy since has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and has been barred from orginating mortgages.

Aslesen’s licenses have been revoked, and he’s been ordered to pay a civil penalty of $100,000. Thomas Rosensteel, owner of Split Rock Realty, had his license revoked, and Sean Rosensteel, a salesperson at Split Rock, was ordered to pay a $70,000 civil penalty in addition to losing his license.

Jonathan Neal Roman, an appraiser who performed work for Split Rock, also had his license revoked.

Hyland could lose his real estate license and be subject to a civil penalty, the department said in a news release. An attorney for Hyland, Thomas Fafinski, didn’t return a call Wednesday.

A prehearing conference on Hyland’s case is set for Oct. 13 at the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings.

— John Welbes

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